CITY COUNCIL BACKS DISTRICT VOTING

Escondido reacts
to lawsuit alleging discrimination

ESCONDIDO 
A reluctant and divided City Council this week supported a draft charter proposal that includes changing the city’s at-large election system to voting by district, a move that may halt a voting-rights lawsuit filed against the city.

Council members Olga Diaz, Michael Morasco and Ed Gallo supported the move in an effort to end litigation. Councilwoman Marie Waldron, who has supported a charter with the goal of saving taxpayer money, and Mayor Sam Abed said they would oppose any move that would lead to district elections.

In January, San Francisco attorney James Finberg sued on behalf of several Escondido Latino residents and the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California. The suit alleges that the city’s at-large system for electing council members violates state and federal voting rights laws by discriminating against Escondido’s Latino majority population. A judge removed the labor union as a plaintiff in March.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys have indicated in court that they would “stay the pending litigation” if the City Council placed a charter with district elections on the November ballot, a staff report said.

The City Council’s vote Wednesday night followed two hours of discussion and speakers about the charter proposal.

Although Morasco opposes voting districts — calling the lawsuit legal bribery, robbery and blackmail — he felt it was best to follow the advice of city attorneys and adopt district elections on the council’s own terms.

In the charter proposal, the city would be divided into four districts, and the mayor still would be elected at large. Districts would be adopted by council ordinance later.

Finberg’s reaction to the City Council’s decision was mixed. He said Thursday afternoon that he was encouraged by officials’ consideration of district elections and concerned by comments about drawing district boundaries that would divide the city’s Latino core.

“That plan would leave the Latino population no better off,” Finberg said. “That would not address issues in the lawsuit.”

He said one voting area should be a majority Latino district. The city’s two school districts are changing to trustee-area elections and their boundary maps include a majority Latino district in the center of the city.

Cities typically pursue a charter, which acts as the municipality’s “constitution,” to gain more control over local affairs such as land-use decisions, elections and public contracts. A general law city operates within the parameters of California municipal law.

City staff members will return to the council June 13 to ask for approval of the final charter document so that it may be placed on the Nov. 6 ballot. Voters must approve a charter. If the charter passes, district elections would begin in 2014.